Antithetical parallelism
A major literary device in Hebrew poetry is parallelism. Often, the parallelism is synonymous—the same idea is restated in different words, side by side. Antithetical parallelism provides an antithesis, or contrast. A verse containing antithetical parallelism will bring together opposing ideas in marked contrast. Instead of saying the same thing twice, it says one thing and then a different thing. Following are examples of antithetical parallelism found in the Bible AND in the Book of Mormon.
From the Hebrew Bible:
- Exodus 4: 8 — “…if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign…”
- Psalms 32:10 — “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.”
- Proverbs 13:9 — “The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.”
- Proverbs 19:16 — “He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.”
- Ecclesiastes 10:2 — “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart is at his left.”
- Isaiah 1:19-20 — “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword.”
From the Book of Mormon:
- 1 Nephi 17:45 — “Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God…”
- 2 Nephi 4:28 — “Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.”
- 2 Nephi 32:4 — “… ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.”
- 2 Nephi 33:4 — “… the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them…”
- Alma 5:40 — “…whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.”
- Alma 60:36 — “I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God…”
All of the above is further evidence that the Book of Mormon is indeed sacred, translated scripture, and not the crafty deceptions of a cunning, sinister young man, as the critics would propose. Joseph Smith would have had no idea of the existence of this Hebrew literary phrasing, and its existence in the Book of Mormon is convincing evidence of the authenticity of this translated book of scripture.
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